


Of Blood and Bones

by The_Fanfic_Train



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Character Death, Slow Burn, TAZ balance but make it amnesty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29754606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fanfic_Train/pseuds/The_Fanfic_Train
Summary: Barry has known Lup and Taako since kindergarten. He knows how they can be when they want something. Lup wants nothing more than to protect her brother, and Taako- well, let's just say that he's come to the conclusion that Kravitz and Barry are a bad influence on his sister.Maybe he's right. But those anomalies aren't going to kill themselves, and someone has to keep the existence of monsters under the wraps.
Relationships: Barry Bluejeans & Kravitz & Lup, Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings [here](https://bit.ly/3044sDb), check the author's note at the end for more info!

_The night is cool, dark, and damp; mist hangs low over the ground, and if not for Avi’s headlights, he has no doubt in his mind he’d be tripping over his own two feet every few steps. Idiot , he curses himself as he slams his taxi cab door behind him. He’d known that the couple he’d picked up had been sick with a long night’s worth of booze, and he’d known that it was the orientation week for most of the colleges in the area. A great weekend for business, if not an awful weekend of business for his car._

_And now, most regretfully, the back of his shirt. Why she had felt the need to lean forward as she was sick-_

_Avi shudders. Best not to think about it- he’d change quickly, and get back on the road in no time. He’d be in and out of the house so fast his roommate wouldn’t even notice he was back. He'd been nagging him all evening to stay home- lots of drunk patrons also means lots of drunk drivers, Avi, Robbie had said. Sure, it’s good money, but is it worth it?_

_And if he got caught coming home, he’d likely be coerced into remaining home for the rest of the evening, so he parks at the end of the long driveway and treks his way up the dirt path._

_For all the wind in the night, the trees remained rather still as his dull footsteps resonated off the dirt. If he stopped, he could hear his heartbeat throbbing in his chest, only broken by the ragged exhaustion of his breaths. With each huff, another soft cloud floated into the air and left a trail of life._

_Huh, Avi thought as he continued up the path, I don’t remember it getting so cold. He had been wearing a jacket earlier, and it had been more than enough protection against the night. He hadn’t been cold at all as he had slipped off his seatbelt, but now the air was frigid as though he had just entered a freezer._

_Avi rather liked living out in the country- without any real form of public transportation, cabs were rather popular. He’d been able to rent a massive farm house for a reasonable price, and even if Robbie was a little weird at times, it was better than living at home with his family._

_But, as a large gust of wind nearly pushed him off his feet and rattled the trees that lined the trails, he suddenly cursed himself for not picking something smaller. Sure, they’d have neighbours right next door instead of acres between theirs and the next, but at least he wouldn’t be stuck trampling his way up this driveway. He would have been able to park on the street a few houses down for the same result, but half the work._

_Avi took another handful of steps before stopping in his tracks. When the wind had blown before, it had shaken him down to the bones. And now-_

_The air was still- stagnant, like a tomb that had been unearthed after a hundred years. The trees around him still rustled, and if anything, it was louder and more deliberate now. As if, instead of the wind, there would be a person shaking the branches feverishly if he were to look._

_He didn’t. He just sped his walk up into a light jog._

_The noise of dirt stirring behind him was enough to incite him breaking into a run. Was it nothing? Most likely. But the dark has always hidden secrets, and he really wasn’t interested in sticking around long enough to find out which one was behind him._

_He reached the front door, and pulled his keys out from his back pocket, jangling until he found the right one. The scratching behind him was faster, more furious, and Avi had to will his hands not to shake as he pulled the right one to the front._

_As he placed the key into the slot, he spared a brief glance over his shoulder. The driveway was empty, but within Avi’s sightline he could see deep, four inch scratches that pulled up the dirt below, trailing behind him into the fog._

_Just an animal, He reassures himself. Not unlikely, this far out into nature- just a few weeks ago, their neighbour had spotted a large bear. Taller than her, she had said. And the tracks were probably left hours before Avi had even pulled into the driveway; he must have been listening to the shifting of loose dirt._

_With a relieved sigh, he turns back to the latch and twists his key, unlocking the door. He returns the keys to his pocket just as long, white talons rake across his face and upper torso._

_Pain flashed across his being and he screamed, the sound being cut off suddenly as he felt an explosion of pain where four long, needle like appendages entered his back. Instead of sliding back out, however, the thing pulled apart the meat and began to shred the muscles off his bones._

_Avi cried out in agony, feeling the sickly drip of his blood on the stone below. “Robbie!” He screamed, weakly banging his right hand against the door. Nerve damage, it seemed. He was lucky that whatever this was was still holding his torso up; he doubted he’d be standing otherwise. He was lucky - Avi nearly laughed at the thought, doubling over in pain as the thing continued to pull him apart. Piece by piece by piece._

_When his head falls from his shoulders due to a lack of support, it bounces down the stone steps. It lands in one of the pits of the driveway, eyes still wide open and afraid._

_Somewhere two kilometers away, on a riverbank swathed in blue cloth, twin babes begin to cry.  
  
_

* * *

  
**Twenty Years Later  
**

“It’ll be fine,” Lup’s voice floated in from downstairs, “Magnus always drags Taako to Julia's volleyball practices on Fridays- and he's gotta be up for six. He’s definitely asleep.”

“Are you sure, Lup?” Barry asked softly. “Now that we’re here, we can try and get Kravitz to drive us back.”

“Yes I’m sure- _fuck_ .” She hissed in pain, and that was enough to convince Taako to get his ass out of bed.

"Do you want to pop an advil before we get started?" Barry said, his nerves clear in his tone. 

"The pain is whatever," Lup brushed him off, "I'm just mad that I missed my shot." 

"Technically, you didn't. And it was still rather impressive, even if it didn't have the intended effect. Are you sure we won't wake up your brother by being here?" A voice he'd never heard before said- must be Kravitz.

Fucking Kravitz. God, he _hated_ that guy.

Taako and Lup had met Magnus and Barry in kindergarten, and they had been all but inseparable until four years ago when Kravitz inserted himself into the picture. It started with Barry- Barry he went missing for a week (a loose term, because Marlena had just said he was a little sick and needed to stay home) and when he came back, looking like he'd just crawled out of his early grave, he'd brushed them all off to hang off of Kravitz's every word. Even when the weird goth not-even-really-sure-he's-a-student-here stoner wasn't around, Barry started sitting alone at lunch, usually to catch some sleep. 

_Drugs_ , he and Lup had mourned. _Bear is addicted to drugs, and now he can't even pull himself together for long enough to drop out._

Lup had been devastated. She'd been nursing a crush on him since they were five, and, well- she hadn't taken his sudden departure from their group well.

And then, about a year and a half later, Lup fell into the same routine. She'd picked up a weird set of agoraphobia, and Taako had offered to take her out, but she violently refused. Couldn't, wouldn't. _Best to stay home_ , she'd sighed. _Just_ _having some anxiety problems. Stay home with me?_ She'd reassured.

But, rather suddenly, she stopped sitting with Taako and Magnus for lunch. It was like she'd been reinvigorated, almost giddy with joy whenever Kravitz would gesture for her to join him. At the beginning, it wasn't awful. Taako trusted Lup to be responsible for herself, and if she needed to take a load off every once and awhile, who was he to stop her? Plus, they're twins, not soulmates- spending time apart is probably a good thing. And god knows he'd missed Barry since their sudden falling out; he couldn't fault her for trying to repair what she'd lost. She'd still sit with him when Kravitz was gone and Barry was in study hall, and usually stayed behind when the devils on her shoulder would head out.

But, to Taako's chagrin, more and more frequently, she was invited to join Kravitz and Barry on their escapades. Even if Kravitz wasn't around, she'd sit with Barry in the cafeteria and whisper, constantly looking over her shoulder. She had become just as sparse as Barry, but it was so much worse. It wasn't an odd occurrence for her to come home from a weekend at Kravitz's covered in cuts and bruises. Hell, one time she had called him from the emergency room saying that she had been poisoned "on a dare" and wouldn't be home for another day or so. 

Yeah, fuck Kravitz.

That bastard had stolen _two_ of Taako's favourite people in the world from him, and had endangered them every day since. He had half a mind to threaten him, to tell the goth kid to back off and leave his family alone, but what good would it do? At this point, Taako had no doubt that regardless of Kravitz, Lup would continue to run off with Barry.

His importance as Lup's twin had dwindled to non-existent, and as far as Taako was concerned, that was more than enough reason to hate the arrogant prick.

Their relationship was tense, as he was (reasonably) mad at her- she’d blown him off _again_ to go hang out with Kravitz and Barry, despite promising to eat lunch with Magnus, Merle, and him. Kravitz had waved at her from across the cafeteria and she was shoving her books into her bag immediately with a half-assed apology. It had unfortunately become the norm for them, to the point that Taako wasn't even sure if he'd see her for their _birthday.  
_

But there was lots of shuffling downstairs, and she sounded _hurt_ , so Taako was willing to put his anger aside for an hour if it meant checking up on her when her dickhead friends wouldn't.

As silently as he could, he crept to the edge of the stairs. Lup was incredibly cagey about what she did with her friends, and if he could overhear anything, well…

"He's sleeping," Lup confirmed, "He's never awake this late. Or- this early, I guess."

"You want a cloth or something to- uh-" Barry wrung his hands together. "Y'know, to bite on?" 

"It's not going to hurt that bad, Bear," Lup shot him a look. "It's a couple of stitches. I could sleep through it." 

"Please don't," Kravitz said, sounding slightly amused, "if you faint, I _will_ take you to the hospital. Do you want to pick your thread colour?" 

Taako's heart stopped in his chest for a moment. Stitches? He really didn't like the idea of having to be around dumb and dumber, but his sister was hurt, and while she sounded fine- ("Of course I want to pick my thread colour, I'm not a monster-") he didn't trust the buffoons she called friends to take her to the hospital if she needed it. 

Gritting his teeth, he started down the stairs. "Lu? What's going on?" 

It was amazing, really, how fast she yanked her arm out of Kravitz's grasp. And, to goth boy's credit, he lowered the antiseptic calmly and replaced the cap quietly, kicking the sewing box under the chair so subtly Taako nearly missed it. 

" 'Ko, babes, why are you awake?" She asked, "go back to bed. I just brought the boys over for a movie- don't you have to be up in a couple hours for volleyball?"

"Practice is cancelled, Julia said that the coach got strep- what's going on?"

"I was rock climbing and I slipped, babes. Small rockslide- No bigs. I wasn't that high up." She said, glancing over at Barry. 

"No," Taako narrowed his eyes, "that's not what happened." 

Lup was an excellent rock climber. She and Magnus had picked it up when they were eight, and in her twelve years, she'd been hurt in anything worse than a little overexertion. She had spent every summer on the rocks for years- hell, she'd _taught_ it for the past three. Lup knew how to climb both with and without a harness, and she never climbed anywhere that wasn't safe. 

She wouldn't have made a mistake so simple as getting caught in a rockslide. She couldn't have. 

"People make mistakes- believe me or not, that's what happened. I was standing on a rock ledge and it gave out beneath me," she shrugged, finally producing her arm to Kravitz so he could start cleaning the wound. 

Taako's stomach twisted. He hadn't gotten a very good look before, but the gash on her arm covered most of her forearm, and her complexion was pale- 

"Babe, go back upstairs," she said softly. "I'm okay. Promise." 

"We'll talk tomorrow, but only because that's fucking disgusting," He pointed at her arm. "Are you sure Barold shouldn't drive you to the ER?" 

"Kravitz is a pro," she waved him off. "Stop needling me-" 

Kravitz snorted, causing both twins to shoot him a glare. 

"Very funny," Taako said flatly, "I'm upstairs if he ends up puncturing an artery. Bluejeans, on your goddamn guard." 

As he fell into bed once more, he listened to the tell-tale sound of hushed whispers from downstairs. Lup had lied to him, he knew it- and he was going to find out the truth.   
  


* * *

  
"No Lup?" Magnus asked as Taako slammed the car door shut. 

"Nah, freak squad came over last night and didn't leave until late," he said, "she got kinda fucked up on whatever bullshit- she's trying to sleep it off at home." 

Magnus frowned, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "Bad high?" 

"Nah, she seemed fine- all of them did," Taako frowned, "but she's gonna have a wicked scar. Said she fell during a climb." 

"That's not like her." 

"Preaching to the choir, my man," Taako frowned. "And Barold is fucking terrified of heights. There's no way she talked him up there." 

"There must have been some sort of incentive," Magnus relaxed considerably, "hey, maybe they were going to climb up a cliff's edge and get high up there- she loves the view. And- I mean- she didn't say how she fell, right? Maybe it was while she was trying to help Barry up." 

"Yeah, maybe," Taako settled a little, but he couldn't fight the prickle in the back of his head insisting no. 

"Sup losers!" Interrupted his spiral from the backseat as Julia Waxmen hopped in, leaning over the console to kiss Magnus. 

"Ew- fuck!" Taako gagged. "Gods, stop it. I'm going to walk to school." 

"Don't do that," Julia laughed, patting him on the shoulder as she settled into the backseat and began to fumble with her seatbelt, "stay, and listen to my story about how Hurley has gotten the team banned from every IHOP in a ten mile radius of campus." 

"Ten-" Taako turned to look at her, but Magnus was already pressing for more. 

"Oh god, please. I love this shit. Tell me _everything._ "  
  


* * *

  
The halls were filled with students as Taako made his way through to his last class. He was exhausted- he'd been texting Lup regularly to ensure she hadn't gone and died of infection or blood loss, all the while carefully dodging the inevitable fight that would occur when he got home that evening. Taako wasn't going to roll over and play dead without a fight, and Lup could be tight lipped when she wanted to be. 

It would be one for the history books, that was certain. 

Taako was only half paying attention to his surroundings when he overheard a familiar voice speaking just below average volume. Quiet enough to make overhearing difficult, but loud enough to not be suspicious. Slipping behind a group of friends that were discussing a banquet for some council, he tried to look natural as he glanced over. 

"I need you to convince Lup to stay home so we don't have to postpone the hunt," Kravitz said, back against a locker whilst Barry fumbled with the lock into his own. All around them, students paid no mind, so Taako carefully inched closer to listen in. 

"That sounds like your job, boss," Barry replied. 

"I tried," Kravitz huffed, "but she just threatened to walk to Eversby Woods if I didn't pick her up. If she won't rest, I'm going to have to go alone or call it off until Sunday. It can't wait any longer." 

"Don't go alone," Barry shot Kravitz a concerned look. "We should just lie. Tell her it's on Sunday and then go tonight." 

"Yeah, sure. If you ever learn to lie to her, we'll give it a shot," Kravitz's fingers tapped impatiently on his forearm as he waited for Barry to finish grabbing his books. "Of course it had to be now, with the Pheonix- we would have had a better chance convincing her to miss the hunt if it was- I don't know, Gaia's or the Animus. You're sure you won't try and convince her?" 

"If you've already tried, I don't see what- oh fuck, Taako," Barry's eyes locked with his through the students. 

Well, that was fine. He'd heard quite a bit anyways. 

"Hello, boys," Taako said, casually leaning on a locker on the opposite side of Barry that Kravitz was on, "what exactly are you planning on hunting? Poaching is sort of a big no-no." 

"Taako, fuck, keep your voice down-" Barry hissed, but Kravitz spoke over top of him. 

"I don't think that's any of your business. I don't know how much you overheard, but that's all you'll be hearing. I think it would be wise if you were to head to class and forget that we ever had this discussion." 

"This is my sister, jackass, this is solely my business." Taako pushed past Barry to get closer to Kravitz. "Should I talk to the rangers at Eversby?" 

"I encourage you to," Kravitz's lips spread into a thin smile, "they have some wonderful summer programs coming up. And they know nothing. Ask around all you want- you'll just put suspicion onto yourself." 

"You're bluffing," Taako jabbed Kravitz in the chest. "You're bluffing because you're afraid of how much I know. But guess what? I'm fucking crafty. And when I catch you- not if, when- you're going to fucking pay for what you've done to Lup." 

"Go to class," Kravitz said coldly. "We're done here." 

Taako spun on his heel, frustrated beyond belief- 

"Oh, and one more thing!" Kravitz's voice floated through the rapidly thinning crowds of the hall. "Tell Lup that I have to put an order through at Davenport's- would you be a dear and ask her to text me her order?" 

Taako bit back his retort to stop himself from rising to the bait and continued walking. Davenport's. Another clue. He couldn't wait to make Kravitz eat his words. 

He had some research to do, but first thing first- he sent Magnus a text as he waltzed out the front doors of the school, whistling as he went.

_Interested in going camping this weekend? I hear that Eversby woods is nice this time of year._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! With this, my hiatus is officially over! This fic should be updating weekly on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, and it looks like it's going to be a long one (my last long fic was 96k and the planning document was 6 pages- this fic's planning document is 18 so I genuinely have no clue how long I'll be doing this for so get ready for the long haul!). For context, I've had this fic in the works for four months now, which is WILD.
> 
> As you may have noticed, I've gone ahead and put the content warnings into a google slides- I simultaneously didn't want to hit someone's trigger by accident but also didn't want to spoil it for others, so the link will be posted at the beginning of each chapter and will be updated each week. If there's a better way of doing this, please let me know!
> 
> The last thing is that I'm going to plug my tumblr ([@choo-choo-boyzz](https://choo-choo-boyzz.tumblr.com/)) where I tend to hang out and will also be posting bonus content and concept art at the end of each arc. "The Pheonix" is a relatively short arc, so when the monster design for that is uploaded (and the art is finished) I'll be uploading it to my tumblr and linking it here.
> 
> That's all for now, folks! Sorry about all the house keeping, but I figured it would be good to get that all out of the way. Stay happy and stay safe, xoxo <3


	2. Pre-hunt: The Phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings: [here](https://bit.ly/3044sDb)

Taako had hit a wall.

The camping trip was still on, despite Magnus’ hesitance.  _ Why do you want to go camping? You hate being outside, _ He had responded.  _ Doesn’t seem in line with the “Taako Brand”. _

_ Campfire cooking. Can’t be beat, Mags, and if Auntie’s old house goes up in flames then Lup and I will be homeless for real.  _

So, to Taako’s mixed joy and devastation, he would be spending his very little free time in the woods. Magnus had also gone ahead and invited Merle and Julia to join them without his knowledge. Maybe if he played his cards right, the three would be so wrapped up in the joys of camping and each other that he’d be free to sit and grovel.

Camping wasn’t the issue. It was that, according to the internet, Kravitz was full of nonsense and Davenport didn’t  _ exist. _

After getting home from school, he’d opened up the laptop he shared with Lup and hit the books. He searched for anything with the word ‘animus’, ‘phoenix’, and ‘gaia’, but found little more than some ancient urban legend about two gods who bestowed their blessings to earth after creating the universe. So, with no further leads, he turned back to Davenport.

He went through google maps first, looking for a store- and when that turned up empty, he hit the cursed lands of Facebook.

Nothing. No profiles anywhere nearer than a six hour flight, and  _ whatever _ it was Kravitz was having shipped in, it sounded dangerous. Dangerous  _ and _ illegal- the sort of thing you’d want to pick up in person to avoid middle men who could tip off the wrong people. Even if he came from money, how much could he afford to spend on a foreign supplier?

Davenport had to have been a nickname, then. An alias, more likely. But he’d already reached out to the stoners at school to know if they’d heard the name before, and they’d all come up empty. It was over their heads.

_ Dangerous and Illegal. _

As that thought echoed in the good-ol’ Taako think dome, Lup finally made her way down the stairs, headed to the kitchen. Her hair was more knotted than she usually allowed, and her pajama pants were a dark red flannel. And, despite having just slept for at least seven hours, she looked exhausted. 

Her arm was carefully bandaged, and she avoided using it as she shuffled around the kitchen to make herself a coffee.

“It’s almost three o’clock,” Taako gently pushed her away from the counter to take over, “you’re not going to sleep if you drink this, you know that, right?”

She only grumbled in response, so he stirred sugar into her mug and sighed.

“Well, can’t say I didn’t try. You wanna tell me what the hell happened last night?” He said, sliding into the chair across from her at their worn kitchen table.

“Y’know that rock hillside on the edge of Eversby- the one that overlooks Sunset Point?” She said, taking a sip of her coffee as she waited for her brother to nod before continuing. “We were on a plateau about halfway up and I decided I wanted a better look at the night sky, so I decided to climb the rest of the way. I put my weight on a rock slab I shouldn’t have, and when it gave out, everything above it went down.”

“What about Barry and Kravitz?” Taako asked. “They were beneath you. They didn’t- y’know, get their shops wrecked?”

“No,” Her lips flattened to a point, “They rock slabs settled pretty quickly.”

“They were falling down a cliff.” Taako narrowed his eyes.

“They were  _ heavy _ , babes. When they hit the sturdier rocks, they just stopped tumbling. It’s- this is stone, not bouncy balls.”

“I still don’t believe you.” 

“I mean, I don’t know what else to tell you,” Lup sighed, sleepily reaching out and grabbing her brother’s hand with her good arm, “I’m fine, I was just tired and made a bad choice. It was like two-thirty am. I wanted to go to  _ bed.” _

“If you wanted to go to  _ bed _ , why were you scaling  _ cliffs _ -”

“Taako, babe, please,” She raised a hand to her temple with a wince, “no yelling. I had a shitty night and I barely slept today. I’m still in pain. Can we  _ not? _ ”

“Fine,” He said, feigning indifference. The more he asked, the more her lies seemed to pile up. What had she gotten herself  _ into? _ “Just one more thing.”

“ _ What _ , Taako? What else could you possibly want to know?” Lup sighed in exasperation.

“Oh, nothing,” He replied, picking at his cuticles, “Just wanted to let you know I had a little chat with your buddy Kravitz today. “Nice guy. Kind of a meathead. Said some interesting stuff to Barry.”

His sister’s eyes widened in the newfound silence of their kitchen. The tension rolled off her shoulders in waves and she struggled for words for a moment. “I- what did he say?”

“Oh, just some weird things about those woods, talked about a Pheonix and a Gaia and an Animus- y’know, that good shit-”

“Taako,” Her voice was suddenly strict. “Taako, you can’t tell  _ anyone _ about what you heard, and please, for the love of god,  _ stay out of it- _ ”

“-and, actually, before I forget- he asked for a favour. He told me to ask you something.” Taako leaned forwards in his chair, ignoring Lup’s iron grip on her coffee mug.

“He said that he’s going to buy some stuff from Davenport in the next couple of days and wants you to let you know that if you want him to grab you anything while he’s there, you should text him so he can pick it up."

Lup stood suddenly, pale and jerky. “Taako, I mean it. I know you’re going to try and dig into this, but you- you’re going to get hurt. Don’t, please, I-” She shut her mouth, turning quickly on her heel and returning back up the stairs. The door to her room slammed shut, and Taako let his victorious grin free for all in the now empty kitchen to see.

Davenport  _ was _ in fact a person, not a place. And he lived (worked?) close enough that Kravitz could visit himself. He lived in town, then- and if not, he was likely no farther than a couple towns away. He  _ wasn’t _ some weird guy from the internet, he was some weird guy who lived  _ locally- _

Taako reached out to grab his sister’s untouched mug, taking a sip of the too sweet drink.

Despite the fact the glass had grown ice cold, it still filled him with a grim joy.  
  


* * *

Taako forcibly shoved his bag into the back of Magnus' already overflowing trunk, cursing his decision to invite them. 

You needed a ride, his brain reminded him. You don't have the money for a cab, and what are the odds that Lup will let you hitch a ride? 

It was Sunday, at noon. It had been a bit of a stretch orchestrating their night away- why would they sleep over on Sunday and miss a day of class when Saturday was just as good? 

Because Lup will be there on Sunday. And who knows how late she's going. 

Their morning had been rough- Lup had been on a glorified house arrest since Thursday night. He'd been all too prepared to switch the plans on their friends if she had suddenly announced an outing with Kravitz, but her lips had remained sealed all weekend. 

Even when Barry rang their doorbell, box in hand, claiming he had everything Lup had asked for- Taako offered to carry it upstairs for him, but Barry had gently reminded the twin that he wasn't born yesterday and let himself inside. 

He'd been upstairs for an hour, talking to Lup. By the time Barry returned downstairs to lace up his shoes, Taako had convinced himself that they were either killing eachother or doing the unspeakable. 

Cue Sunday Morning. Lup had been lounging in the kitchen, sipping her coffee and looking out the sliding doors to Auntie's small backyard. 

"I'm going out tonight," She announced as he entered the kitchen. "I'll take it easy, promise- I think Kravitz is taking us to a slam poetry thing." 

"That's fine," Taako said. "I'm going out with Magnus and Julia. We're leaving in a couple hours." 

"Oh," she seemed relieved, "you didn't have to stay with me if you were busy." 

"Yeah, well, y'know," he shrugged it off. "Just be careful tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." 

Slam poetry, Taako scoffed, slamming Magnus' trunk shut. That was the best they could do? 

"Is all of that garbage necessary, Mags?" He said as he slid into the passenger seat. 

"What, you mean collapsible chairs and tents?" Magnus turned to look at him. "Unless you want to sleep on the ground- yeah. It is." 

"Whatever," Taako huffed, "just start driving before I regret everything." 

"This was your idea, Taako," Magnus reminded him. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he sunk further into his seat, "Taako's a mastermind- we all get it. Can we skip the lecture and get this over with?" 

"Fine, but I'm DJing- how do you feel about CRJ?" 

The drive to the park, in all honesty, ended up not being that bad- half way through Emotion (the album, not the song- Taako's will was longer than a couple of minutes)

He decided that, okay, maybe it was a bop- and by the time they pulled into the designated parking lot, I really really really really really like you was permanently engraved into his brain. 

"Jules and Merle are already here," Magnus glanced at his phone, "they set up camp off one of the walking paths." 

"Not too close?" Taako asked, watching as his favourite human meat sack lifted the bags out of the trunk with ease. His shop classes were treating him well- Taako had never been more grateful that Barry had stolen Magnus' hot wheel all those years ago. Taako cleared his throat at the uncomfortable thought- how embarrassing. As he and Lup always said- emotions are for ugly people. 

"They didn't want to get in trouble with the park rangers, so they're not that close- I'm assuming snapmaps is to be trusted. Close enough that we won't get lost." 

Close enough we'll hear the freak squad if they wander by. Good. 

"Good. Last thing we need is more bozos showing up." Taako huffed. "Well, after you." 

The "campsite" was a relatively large clearing close to Sunset Point, on the edge of the hill. It was tucked just enough out of sight that no one would see them unless they were to stay from the paths and go offroad. 

Maybe the idiots deserved more credit than Taako gave them. 

"Jules!" Magnus called loudly as they approached, making Julia drop the large stones she had been using to make a fire pit. 

"Maggie!" She grinned, pulling her boyfriend into a kiss like they hadn't seen eachother in years. They'd hung out that morning- Magnus wouldn't stop telling Taako about how domestic it was buying tents with her. 

"Hey there Taako," Merle offered as Taako dropped next to him to sit on the dirt. He didn't look up from- whatever the hell it was he was reading, but it had a teenager skateboarding in front of a flame decal- as he did, too engrossed in it to tear himself away for a mere moment. 

Merle was the newest addition to their friend group, and certainly the oddest. 

Magnus, Taako, Barry and Lup- the four of them had always been joined at the hip growing up. When Lup transitioned, when Grandpa Tostada died, when Auntie had taken them in- throughout it all, it'd been the four of them against the world. And for fourteen years it was, until Barry jumped ship. 

But Magnus had a new beau, and Julia began sitting with them at lunch. It wasn't the same, but they were still four people. Perfect for pairing off, and not too big for group discussion. 

And then Lup had jumped ship, and they had been a miserable group of three for the first time. Especially with two of them being in a couple? Taako was third wheeling constantly, and it was the worst. 

So, enter Merle. 

Merle had been Magnus' pick, not Taako's- Magnus had sat near him in biology last year and had, apparently, provided endless entertainment. 

Merle was a doctor at the local hospital that had fucked up one too many times and was as being forced to take college courses as "punishment" (as a "refresher" Magnus added) until he was allowed to go back to full time work. 

He'd won over the class with tales of emergency room woe- Taako himself had been privy to some of the stories. No matter what anyone tells you, no, anything is not a dildo if you're brave enough. Jesus. 

Taako had been confused at first, as to why a man bearing his sixties would hang around a bunch of twenty somethings, but before Lup had gone fully nonexistent on him she had pushed him for complaining. 

"Come on," She had said, "You said Merle's a deadbeat dad, yeah? He probably feels bad that he missed out on his own kids. Be nice- maybe he sees you guys as his second chance." 

"Or maybe he's a pervert," Taako had retorted. "You ever think about that? Maybe there's a reason his kids don't want to hang out with him." 

Whatever it was, Taako could be thankful for at least one thing- he was there to cut the sexual tension of Magnus and Julia, which he usually did (by being revolting). 

"You gonna stop them, old man?" Taako asked, uncrossing his legs and leaning back on his hands. Not too far away, Julia and Magnus were building tents and trading kisses as they traded tools. 

"Nah," Merle flipped his page, "I think it's great- Spread the love, you guys!" He called out to them before quieting down again. "The world needs more people like 'em running around." 

Despite Merle's "encouragement" the couple split away. Taako groaned. This was going to be the longest day of his life. 

He turned to look over the cliffside, where the sun was in plain view. Soon, the sun would set- and with it, the hunt would begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left comments on the last chapter- I'm so incredibly jazzed that you guys are interested in the story so far! With this little tidbit about Merle, I *think* we're *finally* done with the basic "things to know about the characters" that will set up the later pieces of backstory, so things can be pretty plot-based from here on out.
> 
> The tension gets ramped up in the next chapter, so stay tuned! I made a lot of progress in writing ahead this week, so I might start uploading bonus chapters as I work!
> 
> I'll be back next Saturday for another update, so I'll see you all again then! Stay happy and stay safe <3
> 
> (Also, title change!)  
> ([@choo-choo-boyzz](https://choo-choo-boyzz.tumblr.com/)) 


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